Loss and Comfort
by GwenSilverlake
Summary: A drabble -after the events of the October full moon-.


The door of the Dorm opened and all the members of the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad trooped inside. Mitsuru was the last one to go in, and she shut the door behind her with a sigh. She turned to face the other SEES members, who appeared to be waiting for her to speak. She noticed that Akihiko was missing.

"It's late," she said quietly to the other members. "Everyone should try and get some rest…we do have school tomorrow."

She heard Junpei mutter some curse words, but the others left for their respective bedrooms without another word. Mitsuru stood there, her eyes shut – the loss they had just suffered was still a shock, and she still needed time to grasp the fact that Shinjiro Aragaki was gone, and would never return to them. Though Shinjiro was a good friend of Mitsuru's, there was no one else that Shinjiro was closer to than Akihiko, who had been like a brother to him since their childhood days in the orphanage, spending their days in each other's company and the company of Akihiko's late sister, Miki.

Of all the SEES members, Mitsuru knew that the pain of Shinjiro's loss was the worst for Akihiko.

"_I have to go and see if he's alright,"_ Mitsuru thought to herself. She opened her eyes and began to make her way towards the second floor. As she approached Akihiko's bedroom, she heard the sound of movement in the room and the lights were flicked off. She reached out to turn the doorknob, and was relieved yet surprised that it wasn't locked. Mitsuru put her head round the door, and saw that the room was in darkness. Akihiko was in bed, seemingly asleep, but she knew that he was only pretending – there was no way he could sleep so easily after what happened tonight.

Quietly, she slipped into the bedroom and shut the door slowly, careful not to make too much noise – though she wondered why she bothered to do that, because he definitely knew that she was there.

Mitsuru walked over to Akihiko's bed and sat down next to him. He had his back to her, still pretending to be asleep. She reached out a slightly shaking hand and began to run her fingers through his silvery hair.

"Akihiko," she murmured gently, "I know you're awake."

She heard Akihiko sigh before he slowly and rather reluctantly sat up in bed, his expression unfathomable.

"I wanted to talk to you," Mitsuru whispered, putting her hand up to his face. "Are you alright?"

Akihiko didn't meet her eyes. He stared stonily down at his gloved hands. "He's gone," she heard him say, so quietly that she almost didn't hear him. "He's gone and he's not going to come back." The gloved hands on his lap clenched into fists as he shut his eyes tightly. Mitsuru heard what seemed to be the sound of suppressed sobs, and a minute later, she saw tears leaking out from beneath his eyelids.

Mitsuru moved closer and gently wiped the tears away with her thumb. Akihiko, his eyes still shut, caught her hand and held it in a tight grip.

"It's okay," Mitsuru said softly, and leaned over to kiss his wet cheeks. "I'm here for you…you're not alone."

"No…no, it _isn't_ okay," he breathed, releasing her hand. He got off the bed and stood up, beginning to pace back and forth, breathing heavily.

"Years…for _years_ we've been best friends. We've always looked out for each other, we've always been there for each other, no matter what. It was…it was a promise that we made. And I…I failed to uphold that promise." He stopped pacing and stopped at the window, his back to Mitsuru. "I failed, Mitsuru. All my life, I've been training…all I've ever wanted, was to become stronger…strong enough to protect everyone that I care about. And I failed again…just like that night I lost Miki." His hands clenched into fists again and he punched the glass window in frustration, the glass shattering beneath his knuckles at the force of his punch. _"Dammit…I'm still not strong enough!"_

"Akihiko."

Akihiko turned around, and was surprised to find Mitsuru standing right in front of him, her mahogany eyes stern.

"It wasn't your fault," said Mitsuru, gentle but stern as well. "You mustn't blame yourself, Akihiko…Shinji wouldn't want you to think that."

Akihiko remained silent. His grey eyes refused to meet Mitsuru's stern gaze. He turned his back on her to face the broken window.

"All I wanted was to become stronger…I've already lost Miki, and tonight I lost Shinji, too. I can't lose anyone else…especially not you…Mitsuru. I have to be stronger."

Mitsuru put her hand on his shoulder, uncertain of what to say. The two of them simply stood there in silence, not moving from their positions.

"It's getting late…" Mitsuru said, deciding to break the silence. She drew back her hand. "We'd both better try and get some rest."

She turned and headed for the door to leave.

"Good night, Akihiko," she said, her hand on the doorknob.

"Good night, Mitsuru."


End file.
